


All or nothing

by Nagiru



Category: Deception (TV 2018)
Genre: Cameron-centric, Episode: s01e10 The Unseen Hand, Gen, Mystery Woman's bargain (mentioned), Set after 1x10, Team as family (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 14:32:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14717915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagiru/pseuds/Nagiru
Summary: At one time, Cameron had promised to do anything for the sake of his brother. At that time, it had involved crime. Somehow, it is easier to commit a crime than to make a call.





	All or nothing

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not too sure where the writing of this story came from, exactly. I think I mixed a couple of my writing-styles in the same chapter, which is not my usual style, and I'm still half in-doubt of how I wrote Cameron. I also think I'd like to add more to this, so maybe I'll write a new chapter later, but...  
> Anyway, fact is: I wanted to post this before episode 11 aired. So, I was in a tight schedule. Oops. Sorry. I'll re-read it later and edit, if necessary.
> 
> Anyway, hope it's good?
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I don't own Deception (2018) or any of its characters. Unfortunately. I'd love to have freed Jonathan by now. Oh, well.

_“What would you do to save your brother?”_

The words echoed inside his mind once again, just as hauntingly. Once upon a time, he’d never hesitate before answering them — _everything, anything_. Jonathan was worth the world, Jonathan was worth his life. Yet…

Cameron enjoyed working with Kay, and he’d _just_ managed to get her trust back. He even enjoyed working with Mike, and hearing Dina’s laughter after the work, as they all celebrated together — he enjoyed hearing Dina happy again, even though it was not with his brother anymore. He enjoyed employing his team to something _good_ , something worthwhile, instead of continuing the work of their father.

He _enjoyed his life_. And experience had taught him that the sacrifices he was willing to make… were not always _worth it_.

Under the Mystery Woman’s will, he’d always stolen a diamond in exchange of Jonathan’s liberty — and, in return, he’d received naught but attempted murder and distrust.

He wasn’t sure if he could say he was willing to do _anything_ to save his brother, anymore. Perhaps it was a sign. Perhaps he should focus on his work with the FBI. Perhaps he should concentrate on helping Kay so they could save Jonathan _legally_.

But… but this wasn’t _illegal_ , either. This time, there wasn’t anyone telling him to kill a person, or even to pull a heist.

This was out of his own free-will. This was just an opportunity, offered freely. This was a chance of doing right by his brother with no apparent cost.

Why shouldn’t he take it? Why shouldn’t he _risk_ it?

( _Kay’s face, betrayed. Kay, telling him that having the bureau’s permission wasn’t everything, that **she** still couldn’t trust him, after all. The team, his team, his **family** , smiling coldly at each other, angry from his lies, angry for the lies he asked Jordan to keep. Jonathan… Jonathan’s expression, despondent and hopeless, crushed once again by a promise that fell short. Jonathan’s voice through the phone, asking for help, so broken and hurt it broke **him**. His brother, behind bars because of him.)_

Why shouldn’t he risk it, when everything seemed so empty, anyway? He had regained Kay’s trust, but now that she had lost it once, it would be easier for her to lose it again. His team was united again, but his family _wasn’t_. And wasn’t that the problem? That was the whole point of risking it. That was the whole point of throwing away _everything_.

Jonathan wasn’t here. No, Jonathan was stuck behind bars, and calling distressed, and being exposed to so much _danger_ , and… and Cameron felt empty. Lonely. He’d never been without his brother before. They’d never been apart for so _long_ before. They were born together, and they grew together, and they had grown as one, and they were _everything_ to each other, and the fact that Jonathan wasn’t here anymore _hurt_. It hurt so badly Cameron could barely breathe.

So — it was a huge risk. It could end with more empty promises, and more broken hopes, and it could all be a hoax, but…

But it was a risk Cameron was willing to pay.

The tight fit on his finger felt like a binding contract, and the words felt heavy on his tongue as he thought them, but all he could think about was the Mystery Woman’s question — _what would you do to save your brother?_

“I’d do anything,” he answered again, angry and determined.

The call to Bruce Connors was quiet — a surprise both to the man, and to his team. He couldn’t raise anyone’s hope, in case it all fell short. Still, when the man answered, he still felt a burst of hope inside of him, however much he tried not to.

“This is Cameron Black,” he said as greeting, short and to the point. “You said Jonathan and I are legacies. We want in.”

Before Connors could say anything in reply, Cameron continued: “And we would like to request the help of Corvus Vale with a legal problem.”

It might be all for nothing, they may not run the country anymore, as they claimed — but Cameron had to _try_ , even if it cost him his work with the FBI or the trust of his team, again. Because it could be all for nothing… or it could very well mean that Jonathan would be able to walk free.

**Author's Note:**

> So. Hope you've enjoyed it?  
> Also, I realize that Cameron was likely supposed to go to a meeting, be initiated and such, but... it's Cameron. He's a magician. He doesn't _do_ rules. (Well, actually, he does. He does his own rules.) So, he got Connor's number and called him instead, because he likes to cheat. Or, you know, "do magic", as he says. Yeah.
> 
> I just... needed to write it. I don't even know if it turned out coherent, or good, but... I finished watching episode 10, and was like, "For fuck's sake, Cam, Corvus Vale just offered you a place. They're, like, a sect, and they're rumored to control the country from within! Go to them! They're offering you and _your brother_ a place! Aren't they supposed to help their members? Get help for Johnny!"... So... as you can see, I wrote it.  
>  Really. I have many rants watching Deception. If I managed to write at least a chapter for each one of them...  
> Oh, well.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, again.


End file.
